Tales of Sforzendo: The Moron Who Would Be Prince
by Advocaat
Summary: The gang encounters a wee bit of trouble when a certain 'event' shakes up their lives. Humor, Drama, and Romance Oh my! Hamel's in denial and Flute's in a pickle. HamelFlute RaielSizer Manga based.
1. Chapter 1

**This fic is based on the manga cause it's happier! **

**I felt I needed to add a fic to this lonely section. Hamel fans must unite! There aren't enough of us! Ah yes, and there will probably be images to go with this story soon! I'll post a link when I have it**

**-CCV**

Once upon a time in a land far far away, in what is apparently a universe far far away, with characters whose minds are probably the farthest from home one could possibly venture, there was a group of traveling nimrods... I mean traveling _heroes _that were sometimes known as the five great hopes...except that there were actually like seven of them cause they had picked up some baggage along the way...Anywho, the point is that- Oh screw that whatever! I'll just start over.

Ahem!

Hamel, Flute, Raiel, Trom, Oboe, Sizer, and Ocarina were lost. Yes, lost. They had been traveling back to Sforzendo after a nice fun journey of hunting down some random enemy, possibly Orgel, but he was dressed like Kestra, and making a mighty ruckus down in some town called Accupello.

Hamel and the gang unfortunately had arrived a little too late, because by the time they had gotten there the entire population of the town had been driven mad by Orgel's or was it Kestra's? I dunno, maybe it was Vocal. The point is, they were all raving mad when they got there and the whole lot of 'em had to be shipped off to the funny farm where they would rot in their little padded rooms with their happy plastic flashlights for all eternity! Muahahahahahaha! coughs

"Are we there yet?" Whined Trom as he slouched along a little behind Flute. As well as being lost, the group was totally broke and everyone was tired and hungry.

"I'm pretty sure I saw a signpost a little ways back saying that Sforzendo is only a couple of miles this way." Raiel said.

"A _couple_ of miles?" asked Ocarina "We've been traveling this way for hours!"

Raiel thought for a moment and shifted his giant golden piano to a more comfortable position on his back.

"Oh wait, it was a couple _hundred_ miles. My bad."

"I'm not sure that did much to help everyone's self esteem..." said Flute.

"Gonna die soon..." huffed Hamel dejectedly.

Meanwhile in Hameln...

Bass was having a bad day. He had woken up on the right side of the bed that morning, which was a bad sign for any self proclaimed baddies. Then Lute _accidentally_ banged him on the stair rail coming down to breakfast, and Orgel... or was it Kestra? Screw them, it was Vocal, had gone out and harassed a bunch of stupid villagers leaving him with the paperwork and bill for their medical care.

'_I swear! If anybody bothers me today-' _

"Bass-sama! Reports just came in of Harp-"

BOOM!

Bass used his magic to blow the un-expecting little lackey to bitty pieces.

"Damn, how I've needed to do that!" he proclaimed.

Back to Hamel's group...

"Sizer-san?" Raiel asked shyly.

"What?"

"Oh nothing! Never mind!" Raiel blushed and looked away.

'_There he goes again,'_ Hamel thought as he watched the small exchange between Raiel and Sizer. He rested his arms behind his head and yawned. _'It's not like it's that hard to tell someone you like them! Raiel is such a drama queen. I mean, if it were me then Sizer would probably already be my fiancé... not that I think about her like that or anything, ew, that's just gross! She's my sister!'_

"Hey Hamel, whatcha thinking about?" Flute asked him, a big smile spread wide across he face. Hamel blushed and quickly looked away.

'_I am such a hypocrite!'_ Hamel glanced back over at Flute who was still smiling very prettily. _'It's all her fault, she shouldn't be allowed to smile like that.'_

"Hamel? Is something wrong?" she asked innocently. Hamel quickly thought of a way to redirect her face.

"Nope nothing at all- Hey! isn't that Sforzendo castle?" Hamel pointed off in a random direction. Flute looked off where he was pointing to find-

"Oh wow! look everyone we're here!" She yelled excitedly.

"Wha?" Hamel looked in the direction his finger was pointed. There it was, Sforzendo in all of it's glory. Hamel fell over backwards anime style.

"Hamel? Why are you on the ground? Come on, I want to make it into the city before dinner time."

...ooo...

The group made their way through the bustling streets towards the huge, enormous, gigantic, colossal, really really big castle.

"Are you sure that castle is big enough Flute? I'm not sure it quite touches heaven yet." Hamel said.

"You say that like I have control over it," She responded dryly.

"Let's take a poll, raise your hand if you _haven't_ gotten lost in it yet." Ocarina suggested.

Nobody moved.

"Even you Trom?" Flute looked surprised. "But you've been there more than any of us."

"Those rooms rearrange themselves I swear!" Trom tried to defend himself.

...000...

The group was admitted into the castle and greeted by Clari who had a strange expression on his face. He glanced at Flute but looked away immediately.

"Is something wrong?" Oboe the ever observant one asked him.

"No no, everything's all right... Anyway, welcome back. I assume you didn't face any major difficulties on your trip."

"Uh..." was the popular response.

"Besides Hamel," he corrected.

"Oh! then not really no." Sizer said, everyone else (save Hamel) nodded in agreement.

"Stupid prissy homo!" Hamel muttered under his breath. Clari ignored him.

"I was told to let you know that there will be a formal supper tonight, so you should all change into clean presentable clothes. Princess Flute, Lady Sizer, and Lady Ocarina are to come with me."

The girls exchanged confused glances.

"What's with Clari? He's acting so formal and serious. Usually you two would have been fighting to the death by now," Raiel asked Hamel quietly.

"Dunno. It's like someone died or something." Trom replied.

"He's probably just 'PMS'ing," Hamel stated.

Oboe sighed.

...000...

Hamel, Raiel, and Trom headed to their respective quarters to freshen up for that evening, though why they were told to look nice was beyond Hamel. They had always just wandered about wearing whatever they had wanted in the past. In the end he concluded that this was just some form of royal ceremony or something so he should just go along with it.

Upon entering his room, Hamel found that someone had set out some clean clothes on his bed along with a note instructing him to take a bath and change, then meet everyone in the formal dining hall at sunset. He could tell from the hearts and signature that the message was written by Cornet.

The bath was nice after traveling for so long, and he had to admit, it did feel good to be clean. However, he didn't really like the idea of being assigned clothes. He was used to his regular outfit and felt more comfortable wearing _it_. He considered ignoring the note and wearing his own clothes, they were nice enough for almost any occasion, but the thought of being chewed out by Flute was enough for him to put his opinions aside and just do what he was instructed.

The new garments were definitely nice, very high quality and expensive. Put together, the outfit reminded him of Clari's clothes, but more in the style of the ancient people of Hameln. There was even a matching hat that Hamel was grateful for because he really didn't want everyone seeing his horn.

Around sunset he set off for the formal dining hall. The place wasn't used very often so he almost expected to see dust covering everything. He was actually surprised to see the usually dark grand hall well lit, clean, and very colorful. There were long tables lined across the room, all very carefully and colorfully decorated, as well as another even fancier table at the head of the hall facing all of the others.

The most surprising thing was all of the people. The place was teeming with all manners of people all dressed their very best. There were hundreds of servants roaming around setting out heaps of delicious looking food. Palace guards lined the walls, all standing very stiff and regal, and everyone Hamel had met around the palace as well as hundreds more people he didn't know were milling about or sitting and chatting.

Hamel caught sight of Raiel and Trom standing up by the head table and went to join them. Both were dressed in fresh clothes that had probably been set out for them as well. Trom bore the colors and style of Dal Segno, and Raiel was dressed in the standard Sforzendo attire. Hamel noted that Raiel looked uncomfortable while Trom just looked bored.

"Hamel!" Raiel exclaimed and waived when he saw him approaching. "Wow! You look so different I almost didn't recognize you!"

"Do you two have any idea about what's going on?" Hamel asked hopefully.

"Not a clue," Raiel responded.

"It's probably just a ceremony for something or another, nothing to do with us." Trom said casually.

"How do we know where to sit?" Raiel asked.

"I'm supposed to sit at this table because I'm royalty, " Trom pointed at the head table.

"They labeled everyone's seats and I found both of yours while scouting for mine. We all sit together with Sizer and Ocarina." He then pointed a couple seats over to the two middle seats of the row of chairs. They were taller and more elaborate than the others. "Queen Horn and Flute sit there."

"Oh."

"Hey look, it's Sizer and Ocarina," Hamel said. The two women had just entered the hall and were now heading toward them. At first glance Raiel had to cover his face to control his nose bleed. They were both dressed in very pretty not to mention _low cut_ gowns. Sizer's was a deep elegant shade of red that matched her eyes and Ocarina wore blue to match her hair. Gold necklaces sparkling with finely cut jewels draped from their necks and matching earrings hung by their faces, Rubies for Sizer and Sapphires for Ocarina. Sizer's hair was done up and piled on top of her head. Hamel vaguely noticed how the other young gentlemen in the hall's eyes followed them, as well as how they were going to need to change shirts if they drooled any more.

"S-Sizer-san you look b-beautiful!" Raiel managed to stutter out all the while blushing madly. Sizer giggled girlishly and fluttered her eyelashes at him, then leaned in until her face was only centimeters away from his.

"You really think so?" she purred playfully. Hamel rolled his eyes.

"Kami! Get a room you two!"

They were interrupted by Percuss' voice calling for everyone to take their seats. The group went to their part of the table to find Oboe there waiting for them. Hamel sat in his spot next to Trom and Raiel and noted that there were a number of finely dressed young men sitting on Trom's other side. Percuss and Clari sat to the sides of the Queen and Flute's places, and a number of finely dressed older men and what Hamel suspected were their wives sat at the other side of the table. Trom seemed to notice them too.

"Those are the Kings and Queens of the other major countries of the world!" He looked amazed. I wonder what they're doing here!"

Percuss stood and the hall gradually quieted.

"Welcome everyone to the ceremony for the Council of Kings." his voice echoed loudly and clearly through the large chamber.

'_Council of Kings?' _Hamel wondered silently.

"It is my great honor to present Sforzendo's reigning Queen, Queen Horn!"

The large doors to the hall opened and Horn walked in and down the center isle of the hall over a long red velvet carpet. The applause was enormous, there was even a fair amount of cheering. She smiled and looked around at the enormous crowd that had gathered for the ceremony then took her place at the head table.

Once the applause had died down Percuss cleared his throat and continued.

"I would also like to present her royal highness Princess Flute!"

In walked Flute looking somewhat nervous but steady. She was as beautiful as Sizer and Ocarina if not more. Her hair was down and a crown of white gold studded with opals sat atop her head. She wore a long sparkling silver gown bearing the Sforzendo cross as well as long dangling cross shaped earrings. The silver complemented her red hair quite well in Hamel's opinion. (Not that he'd ever admit it.)

The applause was just as loud for her if not more, and there were some calls of 'Mary me Flute-sama!' from the men. This made Hamel strangely angry, though he couldn't quite understand why.

Flute took her seat next to her mother, a light blush spread across her cheeks.

Percuss sat down as well and everyone took that as their que to begin eating. Raiel reached for some butter marinated fish.

"Looks like Flute has become popular among the gentlemen." He said.

"That's true," Trom agreed. "What are you going to do about it Hamel?"

"What do you mean?" Hamel crossed his arms indignantly. "Who Flute likes is of no concern to me."

"You just keep on telling yourself that buddy." Raiel smirked.

"Humph!" was Hamel's only response as he too began to serve himself. There was silence between them for a couple minutes before Ocarina spoke.

"Don't you think Queen Horn looks unhappy about something?" she asked. They looked over at the queen. Indeed she did look uneasy. She kept fidgeting and looking at one of the hall's clocks.

"You're right," said Oboe. "I wonder if maybe she received some form of unpleasant news, or if something she knows something we don't."

...000...

After about two hours the servants came around to collect the platters and prepare the desserts. Queen Horn stood up. The room hushed again immediately.

"I thank you all for being here this night," she began, her troubled expression was more apparent now than ever. "As you all are most likely aware, the turmoil between Human's and Demons is growing. Already we have lost three of our great nations to their forces. Sforzendo too would not be here today if it weren't for these great heroes," She gestured to Hamel, Oboe, Raiel, Sizer, Ocarina, Trom, and Flute. "As well as our nations own magic Corps lead by the high priest Clarinet." Clari inclined his head.

"Because of these attacks the Council of Kings, which hasn't been summoned since the time of my grandmother before the last Sforzendo war, will be held so that we may try to come up with a better method of defense and possibly a plan for attack."

The hall was dead silent as the majority of people clung to Horn's every word.

"Alliances are very important in times such as these," she took a deep breath. Her face held the look of someone who really regretted what they were about to say.

"In accordance with ancient tradition, all eligible princes from the ten original kingdoms of the world have been summoned to Sforzendo..." Another deep breath, "So that one of these kingdom's may strengthen their alliance with us..." She looked at the floor and bowed her head.

'_Wait, she couldn't possibly mean...!'_ the truth began to dawn on him, and his expression slowly changed to a look of horror.

"...Through marriage with my daughter Flute..."

Flute's eyes widened and she brought her hands up to cover her mouth. Sizer and Ocarina looked dumbfounded and Raiel's jaw dropped.

Queen Horn sat and dessert was served.

Tsuzuku

(To be Continued)


	2. Chapter 2

1"Flute-sama, are you all right? You look pale..." Percuss asked from his place to her right. "Surely the notion of marriage can't be _that _shocking, you are after all a _princess_."

Poor Percuss was never very good in situations such as these, and a recent poll suggests that things might have turned out better if he had just not said anything.

"What do you mean '_can't be that shocking_'!" Hamel slammed his hand down on the table in rage. "Do you mean to say that having your entire free will taken away from you in a single moment shouldn't be _shocking!_"

"Calm down you stupid fool. Is it really so strange to you that a _princess _is expected to marry a _prince_?"

Luckily for everyone present at the head table, the rest of the hall had broken into chatter among themselves and few people noticed the beginning argument.

"Flute should be able to marry whoever she wants!" Hamel protested angrily.

'_It's unusual for Ha-chan get this worked up in such a short amount of time...' _Raiel thought to himself. _'I hope this doesn't turn ugly.'_

"This is for the good of our country- no, our _world_! Besides, the princess will be well taken care of."

"You bastard! How can you say that? You-"

"Hamel," Flute cut him off, her voice was small and shaky. "It's okay, I'll be fine."

Hamel stared at her.

"Like Percuss said, it's for the good of the world. If my marriage will help bring peace then I can hardly object."

"What are you saying?" Hamel looked shocked, the others had similar expressions.

"You are truly a fine princess," Percuss said. He stood and bowed respectfully. Queen Horn looked sad.

"Oh Flute, I'm so sorry. If there was any other way..." She tried to comfort her daughter.

"I don't blame you, but if it's all right with everyone I think I'd like to return to my room. I don't feel well."

"Of course,"

Hamel said nothing as he watched her leave.

"Let me go talk to her," Sizer offered. "Maybe I can help comfort her."

"That's a good idea," Ocarina agreed. "I'll go with you, we can have some girl time." Sizer nodded and the two left the way Flute had gone. Everyone was silent.

"Hamel?" Raiel looked to his friend uncertainly. Hamel was said nothing for a couple seconds then he too stood.

"I'm going to the library," he stated simply then he left.

"I feel sorry for Flute-neechan," Trom said sadly. "I never expected that something like this would happen."

"None of us did," Raiel responded.

"This must be why Clari seemed unusual earlier he probably got information from Queen Horn," Oboe said seriously.

"I wonder why Hamel is going to the library though," Trom said, "He's never really seemed like the reading type."

"Why don't we go find out?" Raiel suggested. "I'm worried about him, he seems to have taken the information pretty hard. Plus the atmosphere here is suffocating." Trom nodded and the three left the dining hall and headed in the direction of the library.

"It's no wonder Hamel took it hard, you'd have to be pretty stupid not to notice that he likes her."

"Well yeah, but still," The trio hesitated at the entrance to the palace's library. That's when Trom was struck with a sudden thought.

"You know, this could turn out in our favor," he said.

"How's that?" asked Oboe.

"Maybe this will be the catalyst that prompts Hamel to reveal his feelings for Flute-neechan."

"That's a silly idea, have you forgotten that even if that were to happen Flute would still have to marry one of those princes." Raiel said matter of factly.

"Unless we can find some way out of it... Maybe there is some kind of book in the library that can help, like a text on government history or something."

"Good idea! I wonder why I didn't think of that."

"Duh, you're blonde."

"Good point."

"You two bring up and interesting idea," Oboe interjected, "Though I'm not sure it's entirely original."

"What do you mean?" asked Raiel.

"What do you suppose Hamel is doing in the library?" Oboe asked.

"Oh."

"I'm actually rather surprised that he thought of it first, I mean, this _is _Hamel we're talking about."

"Well why are we standing here? Let's go help him."

It didn't take long to find Hamel, just as Oboe said he was off in the history section. It was rather strange to see him concentrating heavily with his nose in a book. He didn't even notice them until they were practically standing on him.

"Find anything?" Raiel asked his long time friend/rival. Hamel jumped slightly as he was startled out of his concentration.

"What do you mean?"

"Your looking for a loop hole right? Some way of getting Flute out of the marriage."

"...Yes."

"Any luck?"

"Not really, just a bunch of useless information on the Council of Kings and an overview of past ages. Though I did learn that Sforzendo princess' always marry a prince from one of the world's ten original kingdoms. All princes from ages 10 to 30 come to try and win the princess' hand. It's supposed to keep the powers of the world on good terms or something like that."

"Then that's what Queen Horn meant when she mentioned princes from the 'ten kingdoms'." Trom said.

"So what are these kingdoms?" Raiel asked. "I'm guessing Sforzendo is one."

"I know that Dal Segno is one too," offered Trom. "I've heard my father mention it."

"You're around ten or eleven right? Doesn't that means that you're one of Flute's suitors?"

"What!" Hamel burst out in surprise. "This brat is eligible to marry Flute?"

"So it seems," Oboe replied.

"I'm sorry, but that's just wrong."

...000...

Flute lay sprawled on her circular bed not unlike the time that she had first come to Sforzendo. Tear stains lined her cheeks and she knew her hair probably looked like a horrid mess. It was hard enough finding out she was a princess then, but that was nothing compared to now.

After the initial shock had worn off denial set in, it was most likely the only thing that had kept her calm at dinner. Now however, she was really beginning to feel the enormousness of the blow that had been dealt . Marriage...she knew it would probably happen eventually but she hadn't really put that much thought into it.

She of course had the usual dreams of falling in love and having a big extravagant wedding celebrated with all of her close friends, then having some children and living happily ever after. Of course that would never happen now. It all seemed terribly unfair and she wanted to protest so badly, but it really was for the good of Sforzendo for her to marry one of the princes. It was the only way for them to gain the defense against the mazoku that they had been lacking since the fall of Dal Segno. The more she thought about it though, the more the whole thing seemed totally pointless. If Hamel succeeded in his quest- _their _quest, then Sforzendo wouldn't even need that extra protection.

'_Hamel...'_

Once she was married she wouldn't be able to go with him any more, she might not even see him or the others ever again. Her dear friends, they had spent so much time together, shared so much with each other. They were her _family_.

Flute's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. She quickly wiped her eyes and tried to make her hair look at least somewhat decent. She couldn't let anyone see how she felt. She had to be strong for her country.

"Come in," she called. She was surprised to see Sizer and Ocarina walk in.

"What are you guys doing here?' She asked them.

"We came to make sure you were all right," Sizer responded. Ocarina nodded.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Flute tried lamely.

"Don't give us that, we know you better than to think that something as big and personal as this wouldn't phase you.

"I suppose that does seem kind of silly doesn't it?" Flute admitted.

"Only a lot."

"So it's final then?" asked Ocarina. "The marriage I mean."

Flute nodded sadly. "I see no reason why it wouldn't be."

"Well this _is _a problem isn't it?" Sizer sighed. "Here."

She tossed a container of ice cream to Flute who caught it wonderingly.

"We stopped by the kitchens on our way here." Sizer pulled out a spoon and dropped it on Flutes lap. "I may have been raised by mazoku, but I'm still a girl, and I know that things feel better when you drown yourself in ice cream."

Flute felt tears itch at the corner of her eyes again but smiled.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Anyway, is there anything that we can do to help?"

"I could kill off all the princes for you," Ocarina offered innocently.

"Uh... I appreciate the thought but I really don't think that will solve anything."

Flute didn't know if it was because of Sizer and Ocarina's thoughtfulness, or if it was the just the denial returning, but she felt a little better.

"Thank you so much, you two are such good friends," Ocarina and Sizer both smiled at being called 'friend'.

"By the way, you might want to eat that before it melts all over you," Sizer remarked casually .

Meanwhile in Hameln (Again)...

"Bass-sama-"

BOOM

Moving on…

…000…

Hamel was surprised to find Flute the next morning calmly sipping some tea and watching birds fly in intricate little patterns out the window in the living area in front of her room. She had already bathed and dressed and seemed very much at peace in a large comfy looking chair. He had been expecting her to lock herself in her room for a couple days and refuse to see anybody or eat anything like last time.

'_Maybe she doesn't mind being married after all.'_ For some reason this thought caused his chest to tighten unpleasantly.

Flute caught sight of him as he walked towards her.

"Good morning Hamel," She smiled brightly. Hamel was slightly taken aback at her cheerful greeting.

"Uh… yeah…you too," he responded rather lamely.

"So I take it you're feeling all right?"

"Yep, everything's fine!" Flute grinned enthusiastically. Something was definitely wrong with this picture.

"I'm having a hard time believing that." He stated blatantly. "You seem too cheerful this morning, so unless you absolutely adore idea of marrying a total stranger…" He trailed off. "Never mind, this is none of my business." He turned to go but Flute stopped him.

"Wait Hamel, you're right." She focused her gaze on her feet. "I don't want to get married, especially not to a stranger." She set her teacup on the end table next to her chair. "But I don't really have any choice. I thought a lot about it last night and decided that it would be best for me to just accept things and move on." She smiled sadly up at him.

Hamel frowned. What happened to the strong willed Flute that he had come to know so well? That part of her seemed to have completely disappeared. Seeing her like this angered him somewhat.

They were both silent for a couple minutes. Hamel stood and stared at Flute intently, arms crossed over his chest, and she resumed looking out the window. Soon though the silence was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps.

As the person came into view around a corner Hamel recognized him as one of the young men that sat to Trom's other side the previous night.

Hamel watched as the guy walked straight up to Flute and bowed respectfully.

"Good morning Princess," He smiled charmingly, "I am Prince Tuba of the kingdom of Senza." He took her hand and kissed it gracefully. "I am honored to make your acquaintance." He smiled at her softly. "You indeed are as beautiful as the rumors say." He released her hand slowly. Flute blushed and remembering her manners curtsied.

"Why thank you, you are very kind to say so," She responded sweetly. She couldn't help but notice that Prince Tuba was as tall as Hamel and good looking to boot. He had spiky mid length black hair with long bangs that shaded his lime colored eyes, and he was dressed in the style of Senza.

Hamel glared at Tuba's back.

'_Who does this guy think he is?' _He thought spitefully._'And what gives him the right to speak to Flute without my permission?'_

"I would very much like to get to know you better," Prince Tuba continued"Won't you allow me to treat you to dinner in town tonight? I know of a nice restaurant that is claimed to be very good."

Flute hesitated. She looked over at Hamel who was busy death glaring the guy's back

'_Hamel's never asked me to dinner before,' _She thought. At times she had wished he would do something like that, but the big jerk was just too stubborn. Truehe probably didn't think of her the way she thought of him, but she could still dream couldn't she?_ 'Maybe I should accept the prince's offer and see how he reacts.'_

Flute smiled sickeningly sweetly..

"I would _love _to Tuba-san."

Hamel's jaw dropped.

'_Did she just say what I think she said!'_

"Great! How about I meet you here at seven?"he asked pleasantly.

"Sounds wonderful,"

"Magnificent, I'll see you then," was the last thing he said before he turned and left.

Tsuzuku

(To be Continued)

Yay! Another chapter up! Please review, I'd like at least one! Cries


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